“We always go back to the word of God, and what we see in the world confirms what we read there,” said Kerby, 50, from a stop in Kellys Island, Ohio.

Kerby was one of the founding members of Answers In Genesis, a biblical apologetics ministry with a focus on creation study.

AIG was behind the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky., which has drawn 1.3 million visitors since it opened four years ago, offering an interpretation of the creation timeline and process as found in Genesis, the Bible’s first book.

Kerby left AIG earlier this year to start his own nonprofit organization, Reasons for Hope, which seeks to bring Scripture to bear on a variety of issues, including creation.

“God said he created us in his image, and that we are fearfully and wonderfully made,” said Kerby, using biblical references from Genesis and the Psalms. “Unfortunately, we live in a world that doesn’t accept the fact that God did what he said he did.”

Creation is the topic of Kerby’s presentations tonight and Sunday at Heritage Christian Academy, sponsored by the local First Century Bible Church, which meets at the school.

His address this evening is on the best evidence for a world created by God. On Sunday morning, he will deal with common objections and questions about the Bible’s early history and creation accounts.

Believing in a “young Earth” (less than 10,000 years old) is not a requirement for salvation, noted Kerby, who was a Christian long before he came to embrace the concept of a literal, six-day creation.

“But I believe it’s a biblical necessity to hold that there was no death before Adam’s sin,” said Kirby, who added that sin’s entry into the world (the fall) caused creation to “groan” (Romans 8:22) and put into motion God’s plan of redemption through Jesus.

The ties with Scripture are keys in his presentations. The Creation Museum has an exhibit making a case for the reliability and authority of the Bible.

“God said he created (the Earth) in six days, and then also wrote that on stone tablets in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:11),” said Kerby, who is not a scientist but has a degree in biblical studies.

That creation model runs deep against the grain of traditional Earth science, which sees a planet billions of years old with a slow development of life forms.

“I have 15 years’ experience encountering a range of beliefs and worldviews around the evolution topic,” Langeland said, noting that there is a wide spectrum of viewpoints within the evolution and creationist camps.

But the media often highlight the extreme positions, he said, thereby setting up irreconcilable differences.

“I strongly believe there can be very significant common ground and understanding,” Langeland added, “but it requires flexibility on both sides.”
Better as allegories?

However, Langeland, whose doctorate is in molecular biology, said there’s not much in the biblical creation narrative that’s useful for scientists.

“Those stories are properly viewed as allegory,” he said. “And why should the Judeo-Christian creation story be privileged over those of other cultures?”

That’s a departure point for Kerby, who considers the evidence from a biblical perspective.

“I always ask to show me in Scripture where I an incorrect,” he countered. “Christians need to allow the word of God to be their standard.”

Kerby said his primary audience is fellow Christians, as he seeks to help them “be ready to give an answer” (I Peter 3:15) to those who ask about their hope.

“You wonder why we have 400,000 churches (in the U.S.) that are almost invisible in the culture,” he added. “We have to start living what we say we believe.”